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Battle emerges for No 1 on LPGA

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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – The Rolex Women's World Rankings are a complex entity. A degree in advanced mathematics from MIT might not even be enough to understand how they calculate the standings – or more the point, how they calculate changes in the standings.

At the beginning of Kraft Nabisco Championship week, it emerged that Ai Miyazato and Jiyai Shin have a mathematical chance of over-taking No.1 Lorena Ochoa. Now comes another name, Suzann Pettersen. One would have to assume Pettersen's chances are slim at best, and would no doubt require a faltering from Ochoa. But a first-round 67 has done Norway's Female Athlete of the Year no harm in her quest. We're told by the stat gurus that if the tournament had ended after Round 1, Pettersen would have moved to second, with Ochoa remaining at the helm.

The LPGA needs a little help from Lady Luck these days. A fight for the world's No. 1 spot, which will most likely last all season, will be a very nice sub-plot to the 2010 season.

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Abbott, a U.K. native, is a Golf Central anchor/reporter and joined Golf Channel in 2005.